When to go
The best time to visit Japan is
spring, from mid-April to mid-May in Tokyo and in the main cities of south-central, a month later in Hokkaido. Or you can go a couple of weeks earlier, although the weather is cooler, to admire the
cherry blossoming (
hanami). In Tokyo and Osaka, the full bloom occurs around March 30th, in Sendai around April 15th, in Sapporo around May 5th, in Okinawa even around February 1st. The flowering tends to last longer in the south than in the north (about two weeks in the south, one week in Hokkaido, and even one month in Okinawa), and the date can vary by a few days or one week, before or after, depending on the year.
In autumn, the forests and the trees around the temples take on beautiful colors: the period in which you can go in search of trees turning red (
momijigari), especially
maples, varies depending on area: in Hokkaido it goes from late September to late October (but already in mid-September in inland mountainous areas), in northern Honshu from October to early November, in Nikko and in the area of lake Chuzenji from early October to mid-November, in central and southern Japan and in Kyoto from mid-November to early December.
If you want to go in
autumn, you can choose the period mid-October to mid-November, by which time the risk of typhoons is reduced, as well as the heat in the south, or you can choose the period of the fall foliage. In October, the temperatures are already cool in Sapporo, while they are pleasant in the rest of Japan, air humidity has decreased and the rains are less abundant.
If you prefer to go in
winter, for example at New Year, you can choose the most sheltered and sunny area of Honshu (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto), or the southernmost part of the other main islands (Kagoshima, Kochi) and the tropical area (Okinawa, Daito, Ogasawara).
If you want to visit the main cities in
summer, August is partly preferable to July, having more sunshine and less rainfall, but it is also true that it is hotter and there's a greater risk of typhoons.
Being rainy and not very sunny in summer, Japan is not the best country for
swimming and sun bathing. Anyway, as we said before, in Hokkaido the
sea is a bit cool even in this season, while it's quite warm, with a temperature equal to or higher than 23 °C (73 °F), for most of the year in Okinawa, from July to October in Tokyo and Yokohama, and in August and September in Niigata. Since there's a pause between the two rainy periods (May-June and August-September), in Okinawa the best month for a beach holiday is July, though afternoon thunderstorms are still possible, in addition to the passage of tropical storms and typhoons over the island.
What to pack
In
winter: in Hokkaido and northern Honshu, up to Niigata and Fukushima bring very warm clothes such as synthetic thermal long underwear, especially for Hokkaido, a fleece, a down jacket, gloves, a scarf, a hat, and a raincoat.
In the area of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, warm clothes, such as a sweater, a jacket, a hat, and possibly a raincoat or umbrella.
In Okinawa and the small southern islands, spring/autumn clothes, a sweatshirt or sweater, a jacket, a raincoat or umbrella.
In
summer: in northern Hokkaido, spring/autumn clothes (light for the day), a sweater and a raincoat. In Sapporo and northern Honshu, light clothing, a sweatshirt and a light jacket, a raincoat or umbrella.
Throughout south-central Japan and the small islands, including Okinawa and Tokyo, light, tropics-friendly clothing, a scarf for the breeze, a light sweatshirt for the evening and air conditioned places, a light raincoat or umbrella. For the mountainous areas, warmer clothes depending on altitude, spring/autumn clothes at about 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) in Honshu.
When going to the reef, you can bring snorkeling equipment, including water shoes or rubber-soled shoes.
It is customary to remove shoes before entering homes and temples, so it can be useful to wear shoes without laces, or that are at least easy to take off.
Back to the climate of
Japan